Garment-supporter clasp.



ROYAL J. WRIGHT AND JAMES C. ANDREWS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS GARMENT-SUPPORTER CLASP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907. t

Application fileana 1,1907. Serial No. 371,298.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROYAL J. WRIGHT and JAMES C. )ANDREWS, both citizens of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporter Clasps; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

Our invention relates to garment supporter clasps, ut more particularly has reference to that class of such devices in which a button and loop are used as the clasping elements.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple and durable device of this description, the button element of which shall be so constructed and disposed that the fabric clamped by the button and loop will be so arranged and held around the button head as to closely surround and adhere to the latter throughout its entire area, and with these ends in view our invention consists in the combination'of parts and arrange- 1 ment of parts hereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude this application...

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improvement in clasped condition- Fig. 2 a plan view of our improvement likewise in clasped condition, and Fig. 3 a perspective view of the button element without the rubber head.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

The loop 1 of our improvement is made from a single.

piece of wire properly bent so as to provide an inclosed opening 2 which is enlarged at the upper portion soas to admit the head of the button element and contracted at the lower portion, all of which is common in devices of this description.

The button element is made from a single piece of wire which is first bent to form a loop 3 and then extended diagonally as shown at 4 and bent into the form of a second loop 5 in the same .plane with the first mentioned loop, the wire after the completion of this last mentioned loop being brought to a position aboutmidway of the loop and bent upwardly, as seen at 6, substantially at right angles, to the plane of said loops, the end of the wire being then bent into substantial parallelism with the plane of said loops, as seen at 7, and curled around a head 8, preferably of rubber, the extreme end of the .wire being bent downwardly parallel'with the portion 6 and forced behind the diagonally disposed wire 4.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be noted that wehave illustrated the formation of the button element without the head 8 in order that a clearer understanding may be had as to the exact bendings just described,

and in this connection it will be noted that both extremities of the wire are backed up and reinforced by the diagonally disposed wire 4 which makes a very strong construction'since this wire 4 will resist any tendency of the ends to become displaced when strain isbrought to bear upon the device. I

The curling of the portion 7 around the rubber head is efiected in such manner that not only is the head tightly clamped by said portion but the wire itself is so embedded in'the rubber that the latter extends beyond the wire at this point in all directions and completely fills the space inclosed by this portion 7 of the wire.

The loop 1 at its rear end is secured to the usual supporter webbing 9, while the base portion of the button element is mounted upon and secured to the outer end ofa short tape 10 the rear end of the latter being attached to the webbing 9. The length of the tape 10 as compared with the length of the loop 1 is such that when our improved clasp is in use the fabric willbe drawn around the rubber head and will closely adhere to the same throughout its area, thus not only firmly holding the fabric but reducing the likelihood of tearing the same to a minimum. It is not essential that we should use rubber in this connection, since any other substance, such as ielt orother'material that possesses the necessary frictionaljattritiomwill answerthe purposes of our invention in 'thisjrespect.

Garment clasps, of the button and loop class, have heretofore been made in which the'button element has been formedfromasingle piece of wire bent to provide a base portion and a shank with a head extending eccentric therefrom in a plane parallel with the base; also f such clasps have been made of 4 ih of a plain loop with a rubber button or block secured within the closed endjofth'e loop, but in the construction first noted the formation of the base is such that it will not stand the great'strain incident to the use of womens hose supporters, and,

moreover, it is impossible to use material such as rub ber in the head unless said rubber is molded to the head, and in the last mentioned construction there is no head whatsoever except that formed by the rubber itself, and therefore there can be no overhanging or eccentrically disposed head.

In our improvement the eccentrically disposed head I is not open from top to bottom but is completely closed by the rubber or other material, and accordingly, the head is completely enveloped by the fabric and the latter is drawn closely against the bottom of the head so as to hug the latter, thereby not only greatly contributing to the holding qualities of the clasp, but also, by reason of the fact that the part ofthe fabn'cin, contact with said head is distributed oversubstanti'ally the entire area of the head, effectually preventing the tearing oi the fabric by the great strain to which the clasp is subjected while in use.

' 1'; plain eecentriczilly disposed head formed from wire and open ironi. top to bottom, or, in other words, it skeleton head, ziilords no grasping suriaee save around the perimeter ol such head, and when used in codperrition with the usual loop cannot hold. the fabric against the great strain above noted.

We do not wish to be understood as claiming broadly either the eccentrics-11y disposed wire head overhanging the base and disposed in a plane parallel with said base, or at wire loop having rubber or other iriate'riztl secured within the closed end oi the loop, but

' Wlliifi we do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is t. in a garment clusp of the button and loop class, the combination with the loop, of a button element made from at single piece of wire bent to provide a base portion and having one end formed into a shank which projects substnnliully at right angles to snid base portion and has extending therefrom an eccentric loop which surrounds mid clumps u head of suitable material that possesses l'l" .tionul attrition which heud extends beyond suid loop in ail directions und completely closes the opening of the loop, :1 webbing to which the rear end' of said loop is secured, and a short tape upon whose forward end the base portion of the button element is mounted and secured while the rear end of said tape is fastened to said webbing, the comparative lengths of said loop and tape being such that the fabric engaged by the clasp will be caused to surround and closely hug the entire area of said head.

2. In a garment clasp of the button and loop class the combination with the Loop, of a button element made from a single piece of wire initially bent to form a loop, thence extended diagonally and bent to form a second loop in the same plane with the first mentioned loop, the end of the wire being then bent upwardly in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said loops and finally ex tended in a plane parallel with the plane of said loops and curled around and firmly embedded within the sub stance of a rubber head in such manner that said head extends beyond the wire in an directions and completely tilis the sptce inclose'd thereby, the extreme end of the wire being then bent downwardly and confined behind the diagonally disposed wire.

in testimony whereof we affix our signatures in pres once of two witnesses.

ROYAL .T. WRIGHT. v JAMES C. ANDREWS. Witnesses FRANK E. Powunn,

MARTHA E. WELCH. 

